First a rumor, now a confirmed launch—Skype is bringing its VoIP client to the iPhone (and iPod touch) App Store tomorrow, with BlackBerrys following in May. Big drawbacks—only works with Wi-Fi, and no text messages. [Gizmodo]
You've got guests coming over in an hour and the place is a disaster. The household mavens at Real Simple explain how to fake a clean house when you don't have time for the real thing.
Photo by givepeasachance.
The tips range from obvious to useful to even a bit strange, but in all it's a pretty good read. For example, the first tip hits the useful-and-strange nail on the head:
Reserve one side of sofa cushions to be shown to guests. Before company arrives, flip over the cushions to reveal good-as-new fabric. When guests are gone, flip them back.
We can't help but wonder if you'd be better served actually doing a proper cleaning than tackling some of these fake cleaning chores, but the post does offer a few gems.
If you're a master at the quick clean, help out your cleanliness-challenged co-readers by sharing your best tricks and shortcuts in the comments.
According to our siblings-in-hardware over at Gizmodo, Skype for iPhone (and iPod touch, natch) may be released as early as next week—which, if it comes true, should be great news for anyone who's been bumping up against their plan's minutes but doesn't want to suffer overages or up their monthly bill. [Gizmodo]
The Pwn2Own competition challenges security experts to exploit vulnerabilities in web browsers, and after the first day of the contest, Google Chrome is the only browser left standing.
Firefox, Safari, and Internet Explorer, on the other hand, were all handily exploited by the hackers. In fact, Safari was apparently exploited in a matter of seconds. So what makes Chrome so good? According to previous Pwn2Own champ Charlie Miller:
As for Chrome, he says that he has identified a security bug in Google's browser but has been unable to exploit it because the browser's sandboxing feature and the operating system's security measures together pose a formidable challenge.
Score one for the folks at Google. Head on over to Ars Technica for a more detailed rundown of the Pwn2Own exploits.
You used to have to make less than $56,000 per year to use the IRS' Free File program to submit your income tax forms online (with help). Now everyone can e-file for free this year.
As the Consumerist blog points out, you'll have to know pretty much exactly what you're doing with the right forms, since those making more than the $56K limit won't be given any pointers on what goes where. But if you're a DIY type who isn't fond of post office trips or the back-of-mind uncertainty of mailing financial data, Free File has opened up the doors to any and all. And if you're lucky enough to have a family friend or gracious accountant who does them for you, you can submit the prepared forms at no cost.
Does the no-cost free filing option tempt you to hunker down on your own 1040s? Using another free-file option? Tell us your tax technique in the comments.
